Nasser Hussain
Nasser Hussain
Born: 28 March 1968, Madras (now Chennai), India
Major Teams: Essex, England.
Known As: Nasser Hussain
Batting Style: Right Hand Bat
Bowling Style: Leg Break
Test Debut: England v West Indies at Kingston, 1st Test, 1989/90
Latest Test: England v Australia at Brisbane, 1st Test, 2002/03
ODI Debut: England v Pakistan at Nagpur, Nehru Cup, 1989/90
Latest ODI: England v India at Colombo (RPS), ICC Champions Trophy, 2002/03
Awarded the OBE on 31st December 2001
Career Statistics:
TESTS
(including 07/11/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 77 136 13 4546 207 36.95 40.33 12 24 55 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 5 0 15 0 - - 0 0 - 3.00
ONE-DAY INTERNATIONALS
(including 22/09/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave SR 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 74 74 10 2030 115 31.71 66.99 1 14 36 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling - - - - - - - - - -
FIRST-CLASS
(1987 - 2002/03; last updated 10/11/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 306 496 49 18769 207 41.98 48 95 332 0
O M R W Ave BBI 5 10 SR Econ
Bowling 52 3 323 2 161.50 1-38 0 0 156.0 6.21
LIST A LIMITED OVERS
(1987 - 2002/03; last updated 10/11/2002)
M I NO Runs HS Ave 100 50 Ct St
Batting & Fielding 336 313 44 9756 136* 36.26 8 68 153 0
O M R W Ave BBI 4w 5w SR Econ
Bowling - - - - - - - - - -
- Explanations of First-Class and List A status courtesy of the ACS.
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Profile:
Born in Chennai (then Madras) in India in March 1968, Nasser Hussain was
brought up in England after his family moved when he was five years old. One
of his brothers, Mel, played for Worcestershire (1985) and the England
Amateur side; the other, Abbas, played for Essex Second XI, and their
father, Joe, played for Madras in 1966-67. Originally a leg-spinner, Nasser
became the youngest-ever player to represent Essex Schools Under-11s (aged
eight), and Under-15s (aged twelve).
Hussain's batting took precedence in his late teens. He made 170 for
Young England in Sri Lanka in the second Test of the 1986-87 series, and was
England top scorer in the Youth World Cup in Australia the following winter.
He also benefitted from several winters abroad, playing club cricket in
Madras in 1986-87 and Australia and South Africa during several subsequent
winters. He debuted for Essex in 1987, winning his cap in 1989, the season
he won the Cricket Writers' Club Award for Young Cricketer of the Year. A
student of Durham University (he gained a degree in Natural Sciences) he
captained the Combined Universities to the quarter-final of the Benson and
Hedges Cup that year, when his century against Somerset almost won his team
an historic victory.
After 990 runs in the summer of 1989 (in 15 matches) Hussain was put on
standby for the Sixth Test against Australia before winning a place in the
team to tour the West Indies in 1989, in what turned out to be a baptism of
fire. He performed modestly on debut at Kingston, where England won, and
after making 35 and 34 in the final game after breaking a wrist playing
tennis, he was discarded for four years, plagued by poor form and a
reputation as a difficult character; he had disputed an umpire's decision in
a warm-up game in the Caribbean.
Hussain was a partner in Essex record stands for the third, fourth and
fifth wickets during 1991 and 1992 as his batting at county level became
more accomplished. He won a Test recall, against Australia in 1993,
following seven centuries in the summer, and seemed to have secured his
place with innings of 71 and 47* at Trent Bridge. But failures at Edgbaston
and The Oval saw him jettisoned back to county cricket, though the Essex
Player of the Year Award was some consolation. Hussain was appointed Essex
vice-captain in 1996, having impressed everyone with his performance as
Captain of the successful A team in Pakistan in 1995-96. His maturity and
improved technique elevated him back to the Test team, and finally he found
fortune. His first innings back was a stylish century against India
(Edgbaston 1996), although replays suggested that he was fortunate to
survive an appeal for caught behind early on. Another century, two Tests
later, secured him the number three spot that England had for so long
struggled to fill.
A wonderful double century against Australia at Edgbaston in 1997 helped
England to take an early lead against the strongest Test team in the world,
and although Australia fought back to take the series 3-2, Hussain's stature
as a senior player was assured. He has a wide range of strokes, excelling in
the drive and cut, to which is added a sound defence. His natural instinct
is to attack, but he has great powers of concentration and makes few errors
of judgement. He is also a superb fielder in any position. Appointed England
vice-captain in 1998, he succeeded Alec Stewart as captain after the debacle
of the 1999 World Cup. Although his tenure began with two series defeats, at
home to New Zealand and then in South Africa (where he topped the batting
averages with 370 Test runs at 61.66), Hussain is credited with playing a
major role in the subsequent revival in England's fortunes. He also
impressed with his honest and frank speaking off the field and his
determination and aggression on it.
After securing a 1-0 win in the two-match series against Zimbabwe,
Hussain then led England to their first home series victory over the West
Indies since 1969, and the NatWest Series title. His excellent working
relationship with coach Duncan Fletcher helped create a strong team spirit,
and the pair were able to bring the best out of players that had previously
been regarded as enigmatic, such as Caddick and White. Undoubtedly the team
benefited from the new system of central contracts too, allowing the England
manager to rest contracted players from county cricket at his discretion.
A still greater triumph followed in Karachi in December, when England
became the first team ever to beat Pakistan at the National Stadium, winning
a series there for the first time since Ted Dexter's side in 1961/2. Hussain
won plaudits not just for the result, but for the dignity with which he took
some controversial umpiring decisions and his handling of the side on what
had had the potential to be a difficult tour; it was the Test team's first
visit since the Gatting-Rana series of 1987. His own batting form had
deteriorated to the extent that questions about his position became
inevitable, but while England continued to improve as a unit his place was
secure. His form finally returned in Sri Lanka where a century in Kandy was
instrumental in England winning the Test and levelling the series. They lost
the First Test, in Galle, by an innings amid myriad umpiring disputes. A
victory in the final Test of the series in Colombo completed a remarkable
series win; the first time England had come back from 0-1 down in a three
match series since 1888.
But the summer of 2001 was a gruesome one for the England captain, both
for injuries and results. Having won four series in a row, England could
only draw the series against Pakistan 1-1 and were then crushed by a rampant
Australia 4-1. Hussain himself was left sitting in the dressing room for
much of the summer. In the First Test against Pakistan, a delivery from
Shoaib Akhtar broke the skipper's thumb, leaving Alec Stewart to lead
England to victory but then to defeat in the second Test at Old Trafford.
Hussain missed the whole of the triangular one-day series with Australia and
Pakistan.
He returned for the First Test against Australia at Edgbaston but in the
second innings the little finger of his left hand was broken by a Jason
Gillespie delivery. He did not return until the Fourth Test, by which time
the Ashes had been lost. Despite having very little batting practice,
Hussain showed great fight as he compiled innings of 46 and 55 as England
won at Leeds. He also hit a half-century in the final Test at The Oval where
Australia won by an innings.
Despite his continuing diabolical luck with the toss on the ensuing
one-day trip to Zimbabwe (by the end of the tour he had lost 13 consecutive
international tosses) England completed a 5-0 whitewash there, thanks not
least to the consistency of Hussain's batting, which he maintained
throughout an arduous winter. He began the Test series in India with 85
before England went down by ten wickets at Chandigarh, and he continued to
lead the side imaginatively as England drew the next two Tests. Although he
was criticised by some for so-called "negative tactics" at Bangalore when he
instructed Ashley Giles to bowl into the footmarks outside Sachin
Tendulkar's leg stump, the policy met with ultimate success, although not
without cost. Tendulkar was first restrained and then stumped for the first
time in his Test career, for 90.
Hussain contributed usefully to both one-day series in India and New
Zealand, before playing one of his finest innings in the first Test at
Christchurch. After being awarded an OBE in the New Year Honours List, he
made 106 on a seaming portable pitch to hold England's first innings
together, indeed paving the way for ultimate victory. He then made 66 in the
drawn Wellington game, but his second innings 82 at Auckland was not enough
to stave off the defeat which squared the series. The last stages of
England's tour were overshadowed by the tragic death of Ben Hollioake in a
car accident, and Hussain flew to Perth shortly before the Auckland Test to
represent his team at the memorial service. It was a desperately sad end to
a gruelling winter.
Consecutive half centuries from Hussain helped England out of jail
against Sri Lanka at Lord's in the first Test of the 2002 summer, and
although he contributed few runs in the remainder of the series, England
triumphed 2-0 with wins at Birmingham and Manchester. He bounced back in the
triangular NatWest tournament, staying at number three despite media
suggestions that he should drop down the order. After scoring a century in
the final at Lord's (a one-day classic which India won), Hussain
gesticulated wildly at the Media Centre, pointing at the number on the back
of his shirt. 155 followed to set up England's win in the first Test, and he
made another century in a losing cause as India levelled the series 1-1 at
Headingley.
Hussain was awarded one of the ECB's first full-year contracts after
committing himself to the captaincy until the end of the 2003 season, and as
he prepared for the ultimate challenge - the attempt to regain the Ashes in
Australia - to be swiftly followed by the World Cup in South Africa.
(Copyright CricInfo October 2002)
Portrait photograph by David Munden,
Copyright Sportsline Photographic +44 (0)1455 273320,
Thanks to The Cricketer.
Last Updated: Monday, 11-Nov-2002 07:20:31 GMT
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